, 1887-11-17
The "En~s PreIGrIcatur.

III" Tacoma L"fgrr has either been
wofulIy imposed upon or else it has
earned reputation for c-owdiug more
fal~ehoods into small space than any
other paper ont ide OF Purgatory. In
its issue Of Sunday Is an article about
the Methodist University which 1t ap-
Propriately heads, Some FabricutIous." ."
In the first place Ii takes for granted
that location Will be made at Tacoma
because, fOrsooth somebody had cast his
vote for that place month or so in ad-
vance Of the opening oi bids, and while
the commission is advertising for bids
Or course such procedure is perfectly
angelic in the eyes Of the Ledger When
Tacoma Is to be the beneficiary. But to
It's remarkable assertions, 1t says: Only
one days notice was gwen before the
meeting of the board of trustees May
3tst, in which to Investigate the bOnuS
offered by Port Townseut which, cOnsid-
ering the land proposed TO he given lay
III eight different counties, was entirely
Insufficient Ne do not know who au-
thorizcd that statement, but We do not
! hesitate to brand him L Consummate fall
slher. When the trustees met May 3lst,
two members of the conference commit
tee (dcsignated to call said trustees to-
gcther TO be incorporated "whcncvcr the
| bonus be provided had made ample in
vestigatiou, and had their report ready.
] L lac T,,4r,ol,ar Of fl,.,t
| had been ETg1d for tICO months prior to
! May 3lst to make personal investigation
! bUt had failed to 90 SO. That member
Is IL Tacoma; did he authorize the pub
| LEGATION of the statement quoted from
the Lcdyer? The trustees were not
| called together to make investigation,
| but To receive the report Of the confer
ence committee. 1t was never designed
that they should all make personal in-
vestigatIon. Again: Suppose that
| few stray pieces of the land were scat
tered around in several counties, was
that outside the contract? Objections
is muGc 70 the limited number who at
tended the Laymen's Convention, con
siderinS the large lumber Of members
within the bounds of the conference
| OF course the attendance WAS not as
1t large as would have been If the con
vention had been advertised longer be-
forehand or If it had not occurred on the
| first of the month when business men
| have fhcir busiest time, or if II had been
other than the fall OF the Year when far
mers were caring for their crops. But
all things considered it was fairly rep
resentive. The Ledger failed to note
the letters from Vancouver Lopez and
| Dungeness, that were read cummenda-
tory of the action tgken 10y the couven-
! ton which were the next best thing to
actual personal representation from
those charges. Ii also fails to note that
Gov. Squire's speaking was after the
convention had acted and was ready to
adjourn. But it is not the fact of the
number attending the convention that
| troubles the Tacoma editor so much as
BILE to the terminal city. One more qnu-
| tation. The Ledger" says: he
statement published and republished in
the Port Townsend ARGUS that Prof.
Weir was shut off from speaking at the
annual conference by the motion of Rev.
ID. q. LcSou ri of Tacoma, is branded
as untrue by the most reliable authoritSs
We rise to ask what is ''Ie liable author
ity'' in this case? In the first place the
ARGUS Is not given To publishing as
is editors own personal assertions,
from personal knowledge, statements
that are untrue. Secondly, the confer
ence minutes when they are published
will show (if they are correct,j that
pending the University question ID. q
LeSourd moved to limit the discussion
to actual members of the conference.
| Those that attended will remember that
Mr.. LeSourd added sneeringly that the
| conference was quite able to manage its
own affairs; that the effect of his motion
vas pointed out TO be to exclude the Port
| Townsend board of trade agent Mho had
a pending contract with the conference
and desired to be heard; that he insisted
on his motion knowing that to be its
only result Now, II the Ledger doubts
our word further il may inquire of any
member of the annual conference who
was present at the part OF the proceed
ings referred to.